Irish Naming Traditions and Patterns

This is intended to be just a general guideline. There may be many differences, depending upon the Irish community. It may also be useful for those tracing their Irish family genealogy as the same names seem to crop up frequently within families:

  • Oldest son named after the Father’s father
  • 2nd son named after the Mother’s father
  • 3rd son named after the Father
  • 4th son named after the Father’s oldest brother
  • Oldest daughter named after the Mother’s mother
  • 2nd daughter named after the Father’s mother
  • 3rd daughter named after the Mother
  • 4th daughter named after the Mother’s oldest sister